Denver Cutthroats open tryout begins Friday in Littleton

Brad Smyth served as assistant captain for the Denver Cutthroats last season. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Who’s the next Phil Tesoriero?

The Denver Cutthroats of the Central Hockey League and double-A affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche is looking for another Tesoriero or two. The defenseman from Boulder was among the 75 players who participated in the Cutthroats’ inaugural open tryout a year ago, and the only one who made the team (among three that were invited to training camp). He played in 62 games and recently re-signed with the team for the coming season.

The “Fish” will host their second open tryout this weekend at Edge Ice Arena in Littleton. The first of three sessions is Friday at 9 a.m. If you’re good enough, you’ll be invited back Saturday (3 p.m.) and perhaps Sunday (2 p.m.). Cost to skate is $150 and the event is open and free to the public.

Players must don full gear, including a visor (or half-shield) but cages will not be allowed. I love that rule, by the way, and firmly believe the NCAA should get rid of its full-cage rule and go to mandatory visors like major-junior and most North American junior-A leagues. It has been proven that more major head injuries are seen in leagues that mandate full cages and players better respect their head and their opponents’ with visors or nothing.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.